Vehicular automatic emergency braking system with cross-path threat determination

ABSTRACT

A vehicular control system includes a sensor disposed at a vehicle and capturing sensor data. The system, as the vehicle is approaching an intersection and responsive to processing by a processor of sensor data captured by the sensor, detects a cross-traffic threat approaching the intersection and maintains a buffer to store a trajectory of the cross-traffic threat. The system, using the trajectory, determines an intersection point between the vehicle and the cross-traffic threat, determines an arrival time at the intersection point for both the vehicle and the cross-traffic threat, and determines a difference between the arrival time of the vehicle at the intersection and the cross-traffic threat. The system, responsive to determining that the difference between the arrival time of the equipped vehicle at the intersection and the arrival time of the cross-traffic threat is less than a threshold amount, controls a safety system of the vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority of U.S. provisional applicationSer. No. 63/261,517, filed Sep. 23, 2021, and U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 63/202,953, filed Jul. 1, 2021, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a vehicle control system fora vehicle and, more particularly, to a vehicle control system thatutilizes one or more sensors at a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Use of sensors in vehicle imaging systems is common and known. Examplesof known imaging sensor systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.10,688,993; 9,925,980; 5,949,331; 5,670,935 and/or 5,550,677, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A vehicular control system includes a sensor disposed at a vehicleequipped with the vehicular control system and sensing exterior and atleast forward of the vehicle, the sensor capturing sensor data. Thesystem includes an electronic control unit (ECU) including electroniccircuitry and associated software. The electronic circuitry of the ECUincludes a processor for processing sensor data captured by the sensor.The vehicular control system, as the equipped vehicle is approaching anintersection that intersects a roadway along which the equipped vehicleis currently traveling and responsive to processing by the processor ofsensor data captured by the sensor, detects a position of at least onecross-traffic threat approaching the intersection from a differentroadway than the roadway the equipped vehicle is traveling along. Thevehicular control system maintains at least one buffer for eachrespective detected cross-traffic threat, and each buffer stores atrajectory of the respective cross-traffic threat. The trajectoryincludes a plurality of detected positions of the respectivecross-traffic threat as the respective cross-traffic threat travelsalong the different roadway toward the intersection ahead of theequipped vehicle. The vehicular control system, as the equipped vehicleapproaches the intersection, and using the trajectory stored in thebuffer of the respective cross-traffic threat, determines a potentialintersection point between the equipped vehicle and the at least onecross-traffic threat. The vehicular control system, responsive todetermining the potential intersection point, determines an arrival timeat the potential intersection point for the equipped vehicle and anarrival time at the potential intersection point for the at least onecross-traffic threat and determines a difference between the arrivaltime of the equipped vehicle at the intersection and the arrival time ofthe at least one cross-traffic threat. The vehicular control system,responsive to determining that the difference between the arrival timeof the equipped vehicle at the intersection and the arrival time of theat least one cross-traffic threat is less than a threshold amount,controls a safety system of the vehicle.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle with a control system thatincorporates sensors such as cameras or radar sensors;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a subject vehicle approaching anintersection at the same time as a target object on a cross-path withthe subject vehicle;

FIGS. 3A-3C are schematic views of buffers storing samples of attributesfor the control system of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a table of traffic scenarios and environments for operation ofthe control system of FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a subject vehicle approaching anintersection with two potential cross-traffic threats.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A vehicle control system and/or driver or driving assist system and/orobject detection system and/or alert system operates to capture sensordata representative of the exterior of the vehicle and may process thecaptured sensor data to detect objects at or near the vehicle and in thepredicted path of the vehicle, such as to assist a driver of the vehiclein maneuvering the vehicle in a forward or rearward direction. Thecontrol system includes a data processor (such as an image processor orimage processing system) that is operable to receive sensor data fromone or more sensors (such as image data from one or more cameras). Thesystem may process captured image data and provide an output to adisplay device for displaying images representative of the capturedimage data. Optionally, the control system may provide display, such asa rearview display or a top down or bird's eye or surround view displayor the like.

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, a vehicle 10 includes a sensing system 12 that includes atleast one exterior sensing sensor, such as at least one exterior viewingimaging sensor or camera, such as a rearward viewing imaging sensor orcamera 14 a (and the system may optionally include multiple exteriorviewing imaging sensors or cameras, such as a forward viewing camera 14b at the front (or at the windshield) of the vehicle, and asideward/rearward viewing camera 14 c, 14 d at respective sides of thevehicle), which captures images exterior of the vehicle, with the camerahaving a lens for focusing images at or onto an imaging array or imagingplane or imager of the camera (FIG. 1 ). The sensors 14 a, 14 b, 14 c,14 d in FIG. 1 may comprise exterior viewing cameras and/or exteriorsensing sensors (e.g., radar sensors and/or lidar sensors). Optionally,a forward viewing camera may be disposed at the windshield of thevehicle and view through the windshield and forward of the vehicle, suchas for a machine vision system (such as for traffic sign recognition,headlamp control, pedestrian detection, collision avoidance, lane markerdetection and/or the like). The sensing system 12 includes a control orelectronic control unit (ECU) 18 having electronic circuitry andassociated software, with the electronic circuitry including a dataprocessor or image processor that is operable to process image datacaptured by the camera or cameras, whereby the ECU may detect ordetermine presence of objects or the like and/or the system providedisplayed images at a display device 16 for viewing by the driver of thevehicle (although shown in FIG. 1 as being part of or incorporated in orat an interior rearview mirror assembly 20 of the vehicle, the controland/or the display device may be disposed elsewhere at or in thevehicle). The data transfer or signal communication from the camera tothe ECU may comprise any suitable data or communication link, such as avehicle network bus or the like of the equipped vehicle.

Cross-path crashes/collisions are a significant issue for automobileusers. These crashes may occur from malfunctioning traffic signals, badweather conditions, out-of-sight cross path vehicles, etc. Thesecross-path object often lead to accidents causing different injuries andat the very least often require stressful emergency braking by thedriver. Threats from cross-paths objects are often difficult for thedriver to see and react to. Thus, a system that detects these threatsautomatically and sends control commands to advanced driver-assistancesystems (ADAS) such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems canimprove occupant safety.

Implementations herein include systems and methods to detect cross-pathtarget objects using one or more forward-viewing sensors (e.g., radar,lidar, cameras, etc.) installed at a vehicle. The system may utilizeradar sensors, lidar sensors, and/or cameras, whereby the data capturedby the different sensors is fused and processed at the ECU to detect ordetermine cross-traffic objects and to determine a potential collisionthreat of the detected cross-traffic object with the subject vehicle.The system may calculate metrics for each threat using target object(i.e., the detected cross-traffic object, such as, for example, anothervehicle, a pedestrian, or a bicycle) attributes and subject vehicle (SV)(i.e., the host vehicle or equipped vehicle) attributes. For example,the metrics/attributes include time to reach the junction/intersectionfor the target object (e.g., a target vehicle or pedestrian or bicycle),intersection location of the target object and the subject vehicle,and/or time to reach the junction/intersection for the SV. The systemmay determine the most critical threat(s) and alert the driver of thethreat(s) accordingly (e.g., via visual, audible, and/or hapticnotifications). Optionally, the system controls aspects of the SV (e.g.,braking, steering, steering, etc.) so that the SV can be slowed orhalted before reaching the intersection point or maneuvered out of theway when a critical threat is identified.

The system provides accurate cross-traffic path monitoring and threatdetermination capabilities using sensor data captured by front and/orside sensors (e.g., corner/forward sensing radar and/or cameras) of thevehicle. Each target object detected by the sensors of the SV may carryan associated attribute list that defines the state of the detectedtarget object. The system may use object data obtained frompre-processed sensor data. The attributes of the detected target objectsmay include relative velocity, longitudinal/lateral distance withrespect to equipped vehicle, width, length, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , the system may provide path tracking for boththe target objects and the subject vehicle. Optionally, the systemtracks the paths of the SV and the target objects using variable originmethodology. The path tracking may utilize target attributes such asrelative distance (both longitudinal and lateral) with respect to the SV(i.e., the distance between the target object and the subject vehicle).The system may use host yaw rate and host velocity for localizationwhenever appropriate. Other means of localization may also be used(e.g., GPS systems).

The system may detect multiple potential cross-traffic threatssimultaneously. Optionally, the system maintains two or more buffers forevery detected cross-path traffic object which may include thehistorical trajectory of the detected target object for both lateral andlongitudinal orientations. The buffer size may be configurable dependingon the situation (e.g., speed of the equipped vehicle, speed of thetarget object, environmental conditions, etc.) and may be populatedbased on SV travel distance. At every buffer point update, the systemmay adjust (e.g., rotate and translate) some or all of the previousfilled points of the buffer relative to the current position of thesubject vehicle (i.e., a current host position becomes the new origincoordinate (0,0,0)), such as by using variable origin/moving origintechniques.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the system may initialize buffers for lateraland/or longitudinal target object and/or subject vehicle points andelement counter counts to zero. The system may add a new entry or pointto the buffer whenever the subject vehicle has traveled more than athreshold distance (i.e., DistHost>=minDistrTravel). That is, when thesubject vehicle (i.e., the equipped vehicle) has traveled at least someminimum distance (e.g., at least one meter, at least five meters, atleast ten meters, etc.), the system updates all buffers at that sample.The minimum distance may be preset or configurable or selectable. Theminimum distance may be adjustable depending on factors such as vehiclespeed and environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation,etc.).

Optionally, the system may model the distance travelled by the subjectvehicle at any given instance in time as shown in Equation (1):

DistHost=PrevDistHost+V*dt  (1)

Here, PrevDistHost is equal to DistHost at the previous time sample, Visequal to the subject vehicle velocity, dt is equal to the sample time ofthe algorithm, and minDistTravel is equal to a configurable parameterspecifying the minimum distance travelled by the subject vehicle (i.e.,equipped vehicle) before the buffer should be updated. The DistHostvariable may be reset to zero after the subject vehicle achieves (i.e.,travels) the minDistTravel.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, optionally, for every new buffer point, thesystem inserts objX and objY representing the current longitudinal andlateral target position of the target object and the subject vehicle atthe start index of the buffers. The system may increment an elementcounter count (e.g., by one) for the index. Prior to inserting the newobjects, the system may shift the other elements in the buffers by oneto accommodate the current positions at the start index of the buffers.Referring now to FIG. 3C, optionally, for all preceding element in thebuffer, the system may translate (i.e., —dx and —dy) and rotate (i.e.,—da) each element. When the element counter is greater than a maximumcount, the system may follow first in first out (FIFO) methodology toupdate the target object and the subject vehicle buffer points.

After tracking the target object and the subject vehicle, the system maypredict a path for both the subject vehicle and the target object fromtheir respective current locations. This involves extrapolating the pathtravelled by the target object and the subject vehicle by using theprevious trajectories of the respective vehicles through, for example,curve fitting. For the subject vehicle, the degree of curve fit relieson the distribution of the lateral and longitudinal distances of subjectvehicle buffer points. For the target object, the degree of curve fitrelies on distribution of longitudinal as well as lateral distances ofthe target object buffer points. Based on the curve fit, the systemderives a number of parameters. For example, the system determines aradius of curvature and polynomial coefficients for both the subjectvehicle and the target object paths. The number of coefficients maydepend on which polynomial degree is best fitted to the paths. When thejunction/intersection point is directly provided from the sensors, thesystem may determine longitudinal and lateral distances to theintersection point from the subject vehicle given the curved distance tothe intersection point when subject vehicle is traveling along acircular or curved path. The radius of the curved path of the subjectvehicle (R_(host)) may be represented by Equation (2):

R _(host)=1/(2*a)  (2)

Here, a is coefficient from the polynomial equation derived from thecurve fit. This determines whether the subject vehicle is travelingalong a curved or straight path or trajectory.

$\begin{matrix}{\theta_{host} = \frac{D_{instersec}}{R_{host}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

In Equation (3), D_(intersec) is the curved distance to the intersectionwhile θ_(host) is the angle of curvature. The longitudinal distance(D_(long)) is equivalent to R_(host)*Sin(θ_(host)). The lateral distance(D_(lat)) is equivalent to R_(host)*(1−cos(θ_(host))).

The system may calculate the intersection point if or when the junctionand/or intersection point is not provided directly from sensors. Forexample, using the predicted paths calculated in previous steps, thesystem calculates the intersection point between the two polynomials bysimultaneously solving the polynomial equations and using the roots asintersection point. The intersection point is the distance from subjectvehicle's current position to the intersection/crash point between thesubject vehicle and the target object.

The system may calculate a target object time and a host vehicle time toreach the junction/intersection. For example, using kinematics equationsuch as s=ut+at²/2, the system may calculate (e.g., using the velocitiesand accelerations of the subject vehicle and the target object and/orthe calculated distances to the intersection for the subject vehicle andthe target object) the time for the subject vehicle to reach thejunction/intersection and the time for the target object to reach thesame junction/intersection. When the target time to reach theintersection and the host time to reach the intersection is less than athreshold period of time (e.g., a configurable threshold period of timesuch as less than or equal to about one second or three seconds), thesystem defines the target object as a threat.

Optionally, the system determines the most critical threat out of eachof a plurality of detected threats. For example, given all the threatsdetected, the system determines the difference between the target object(detected threat) time to reach the intersection and subject vehicletime to intersection. The threat corresponding to the minimum differencein time may be defined as the most critical threat. That is, the threatthat the system determines is arriving at the intersection at a timeclosest to that of the subject vehicle may be the most critical threat.For example, if the difference between when a first threat and thesubject vehicle arriving at an intersection is 1.5 seconds, and thedifference between when a second threat and the subject vehicle arrivingat the intersection is 0.5 seconds, the system may classify the secondthreat as more critical than the first threat. The threat of each objectmay be weighted by other factors, such as size and/or speed of thetarget object.

The system may hold and predict the position of each target object(i.e., threat). Optionally, the system may track lost target objects. Alost target object may be a target object that the sensor data indicatesis no longer present, which may be the result of sensor data error,noise, movement of the target object, temporary loss of line-of-sight,etc. When a target object is classified as lost, the system may assumethe target object maintains the same relative velocity that the systemdetermined the target object had at the previous sample prior to thetarget object being lost. Using the previous sample velocity, the systemmay predict the distance of the lost target object at the current sample(i.e., using equation Velocity=distance/time). The system may continueto predict the distances of the lost target object for a configurableperiod of time (i.e., a configurable number of time samples such asthree seconds). If the lost target object is still not reported bysensor data after the configurable amount of time samples (i.e., isstill lost), the system may stop predicting the position of the targetobject and clear the corresponding target buffers. If the lost target isdetected within sensor data within the configurable amount of timesamples, the system may restore the target object's values in the bufferand stop predicting the distances based on the previous velocity.

Referring now to FIG. 4 , the system may reliably identify, classify,and categorize threats of cross-traffic objects in a variety ofdifferent traffic scenarios and environments. For example, the subjectvehicle and target object may have constant or variable speeddifferences and ranges, the distance between the subject vehicle and thetarget object may have large variance, and the road may be curved orstraight. The system accounts for these different traffic scenarios andenvironments based on the attributes of the vehicles as discussed above.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , thus the driver assistance system determinescross-path threats for a vehicle, such as straight cross-path threats,using different attributes of the subject vehicle and the potentialthreats. The system may be incorporated into an autonomous drivingapplication and/or automatic emergency braking systems to assist inautomatic emergency braking with respect to threats detected on across-path with the subject vehicle.

While examples herein discuss image sensors such as cameras, the systemis applicable to many different types of sensors. For example, thesystem may detect cross path target objects using one or moreforward-viewing sensors such as radar sensors, lidar sensors, cameras,ultrasonic sensors, etc. (and any combination thereof). The sensors mayinclude separate or independent processing capabilities that performsome or all of the functions described herein. A vehicle ECU may receivedata from the sensors and perform some or all of the processing. Forexample, a front camera hardware module may include an ECU that includesan image processor for executing some portion of the cross path featuresoftware. Another example includes a front camera hardware module thatincludes a processor that executes a portion of the functionality of thecross path detection system and a separate ECU (e.g., a vehicle ECU)executes a different portion of the functionality. Some or all of thesystem may be executed by separate hardware, such as a domaincontroller.

Similarly, other sensors, such as radar sensors, may include localprocessing capabilities. For example, a front radar hardware ECU mayperform way object detection, tracking, and some or all of the crosspath system functionality. In another example, the radar sensor merelyperforms object detection and tracking while a separate ECU executes thecross path system functionality (e.g., another ECU or separate hardwaresuch as a domain controller).

The camera or sensor may comprise any suitable camera or sensor.Optionally, the camera may comprise a “smart camera” that includes theimaging sensor array and associated circuitry and image processingcircuitry and electrical connectors and the like as part of a cameramodule, such as by utilizing aspects of the systems described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 10,099,614 and/or 10,071,687, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

The system includes an image processor operable to process image datacaptured by the camera or cameras, such as for detecting objects orother vehicles or pedestrians or the like in the field of view of one ormore of the cameras. For example, the image processor may comprise animage processing chip selected from the EYEQ family of image processingchips available from Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd. of Jerusalem,Israel, and may include object detection software (such as the typesdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,855,755; 7,720,580 and/or 7,038,577, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties), andmay analyze image data to detect vehicles and/or other objects.Responsive to such image processing, and when an object or other vehicleis detected, the system may generate an alert to the driver of thevehicle and/or may generate an overlay at the displayed image tohighlight or enhance display of the detected object or vehicle, in orderto enhance the driver's awareness of the detected object or vehicle orhazardous condition during a driving maneuver of the equipped vehicle.

The vehicle may include any type of sensor or sensors, such as imagingsensors or radar sensors or lidar sensors or ultrasonic sensors or thelike. The imaging sensor or camera may capture image data for imageprocessing and may comprise any suitable camera or sensing device, suchas, for example, a two dimensional array of a plurality of photosensorelements arranged in at least 640 columns and 480 rows (at least a640×480 imaging array, such as a megapixel imaging array or the like),with a respective lens focusing images onto respective portions of thearray. The photosensor array may comprise a plurality of photosensorelements arranged in a photosensor array having rows and columns.Preferably, the imaging array has at least 300,000 photosensor elementsor pixels, more preferably at least 500,000 photosensor elements orpixels and more preferably at least 1 million photosensor elements orpixels. The imaging array may capture color image data, such as viaspectral filtering at the array, such as via an RGB (red, green andblue) filter or via a red/red complement filter or such as via an RCC(red, clear, clear) filter or the like. The logic and control circuit ofthe imaging sensor may function in any known manner, and the imageprocessing and algorithmic processing may comprise any suitable meansfor processing the images and/or image data.

For example, the control system and/or processing and/or camera and/orcircuitry may utilize aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,233,641;9,146,898; 9,174,574; 9,090,234; 9,077,098; 8,818,042; 8,886,401;9,077,962; 9,068,390; 9,140,789; 9,092,986; 9,205,776; 8,917,169;8,694,224; 7,005,974; 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,796,094; 5,949,331;6,222,447; 6,302,545; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202;6,201,642; 6,690,268; 6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452;6,822,563; 6,891,563; 6,946,978; 7,859,565; 5,550,677; 5,670,935;6,636,258; 7,145,519; 7,161,616; 7,230,640; 7,248,283; 7,295,229;7,301,466; 7,592,928; 7,881,496; 7,720,580; 7,038,577; 6,882,287;5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772, and/or U.S. Publication Nos.US-2014-0340510; US-2014-0313339; US-2014-0347486; US-2014-0320658;US-2014-0336876; US-2014-0307095; US-2014-0327774; US-2014-0327772;US-2014-0320636; US-2014-0293057; US-2014-0309884; US-2014-0226012;US-2014-0293042; US-2014-0218535; US-2014-0218535; US-2014-0247354;US-2014-0247355; US-2014-0247352; US-2014-0232869; US-2014-0211009;US-2014-0160276; US-2014-0168437; US-2014-0168415; US-2014-0160291;US-2014-0152825; US-2014-0139676; US-2014-0138140; US-2014-0104426;US-2014-0098229; US-2014-0085472; US-2014-0067206; US-2014-0049646;US-2014-0052340; US-2014-0025240; US-2014-0028852; US-2014-005907;US-2013-0314503; US-2013-0298866; US-2013-0222593; US-2013-0300869;US-2013-0278769; US-2013-0258077; US-2013-0258077; US-2013-0242099;US-2013-0215271; US-2013-0141578 and/or US-2013-0002873, which are allhereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The systemmay communicate with other communication systems via any suitable means,such as by utilizing aspects of the systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos.10,071,687; 9,900,490; 9,126,525 and/or 9,036,026, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The system may utilize sensors, such as radar sensors or imaging radarsensors or lidar sensors or the like, to detect presence of and/or rangeto other vehicles and objects at the intersection. The sensing systemmay utilize aspects of the systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos.10,866,306; 9,954,955; 9,869,762; 9,753,121; 9,689,967; 9,599,702;9,575,160; 9,146,898; 9,036,026; 8,027,029; 8,013,780; 7,408,627;7,405,812; 7,379,163; 7,379,100; 7,375,803; 7,352,454; 7,340,077;7,321,111; 7,310,431; 7,283,213; 7,212,663; 7,203,356; 7,176,438;7,157,685; 7,053,357; 6,919,549; 6,906,793; 6,876,775; 6,710,770;6,690,354; 6,678,039; 6,674,895 and/or 6,587,186, and/or U.S.Publication Nos. US-2019-0339382; US-2018-0231635; US-2018-0045812;US-2018-0015875; US-2017-0356994; US-2017-0315231; US-2017-0276788;US-2017-0254873; US-2017-0222311 and/or US-2010-0245066, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The radar sensors of the sensing system each comprise a plurality oftransmitters that transmit radio signals via a plurality of antennas, aplurality of receivers that receive radio signals via the plurality ofantennas, with the received radio signals being transmitted radiosignals that are reflected from an object present in the field ofsensing of the respective radar sensor. The system includes an ECU orcontrol that includes a data processor for processing sensor datacaptured by the radar sensors. The ECU or sensing system may be part ofa driving assist system of the vehicle, with the driving assist systemcontrols at least one function or feature of the vehicle (such as toprovide autonomous driving control of the vehicle) responsive toprocessing of the data captured by the radar sensors.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments canbe carried out without departing from the principles of the invention,which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appendedclaims, as interpreted according to the principles of patent lawincluding the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A vehicular control system, the vehicular control system comprising:a sensor disposed at a vehicle equipped with the vehicular controlsystem and sensing exterior and at least forward of the vehicle, thesensor capturing sensor data; an electronic control unit (ECU)comprising electronic circuitry and associated software; wherein theelectronic circuitry of the ECU comprises a processor for processingsensor data captured by the sensor; wherein the vehicular controlsystem, as the equipped vehicle is approaching an intersection thatintersects a roadway along which the equipped vehicle is currentlytraveling and responsive to processing by the processor of sensor datacaptured by the sensor, detects a position of at least one cross-trafficthreat approaching the intersection from a different roadway than theroadway the equipped vehicle is traveling along; wherein the vehicularcontrol system maintains at least one buffer for each respectivedetected cross-traffic threat, and wherein each buffer stores atrajectory of the respective cross-traffic threat, and wherein thetrajectory comprises a plurality of detected positions of the respectivecross-traffic threat as the respective cross-traffic threat travelsalong the different roadway toward the intersection ahead of theequipped vehicle; wherein the vehicular control system, as the equippedvehicle approaches the intersection, and using the trajectory stored inthe buffer of the respective cross-traffic threat, determines apotential intersection point between the equipped vehicle and the atleast one cross-traffic threat; wherein the vehicular control system,responsive to determining the potential intersection point, determinesan arrival time at the potential intersection point for the equippedvehicle and an arrival time at the potential intersection point for theat least one cross-traffic threat; wherein the vehicular control systemdetermines a difference between the arrival time of the equipped vehicleat the intersection and the arrival time of the at least onecross-traffic threat; and wherein the vehicular control system,responsive to determining that the difference between the arrival timeof the equipped vehicle at the intersection and the arrival time of theat least one cross-traffic threat is less than a threshold amount,controls a safety system of the vehicle.
 2. The vehicular control systemof claim 1, wherein the vehicular control system determines thepotential intersection point using variable origin methodology.
 3. Thevehicular control system of claim 1, wherein each buffer comprises aconfigurable buffer size that is configurable based on a speed of theequipped vehicle.
 4. The vehicular control system of claim 1, whereinthe at least one buffer comprises two buffers.
 5. The vehicular controlsystem of claim 1, wherein each buffer of the at least one bufferfurther stores lateral and longitudinal orientations of thecorresponding cross-traffic threat.
 6. The vehicular control system ofclaim 1, wherein the vehicular control system periodically updates theat least one buffer based on a current position of the equipped vehicle.7. The vehicular control system of claim 6, wherein the vehicularcontrol system updates the at least one buffer after the equippedvehicle has traveled more than a threshold distance.
 8. The vehicularcontrol system of claim 1, wherein the vehicular control systemdetermines the potential intersection point based on a path predictionof the equipped vehicle and a path prediction of the at least onecross-traffic threat.
 9. The vehicular control system of claim 8,wherein the path prediction of the equipped vehicle and the pathprediction of the at least one cross-traffic threat are based on curvefitting.
 10. The vehicular control system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one cross-traffic threat comprises a plurality of cross-trafficthreats, and wherein the vehicular control system classifies each of theplurality of cross-traffic threats based on the difference between thearrival time of the equipped vehicle at the intersection and the arrivaltime of the corresponding cross-traffic threat of the plurality ofcross-traffic threats.
 11. The vehicular control system of claim 1,wherein in the vehicular control system, responsive to processing by theprocessor of sensor data captured by the sensor, determines that one ofthe at least one cross-traffic threat is lost, and wherein the vehicularcontrol system predicts a position of the lost cross-traffic threat fora threshold period of time.
 12. The vehicular control system of claim11, wherein the vehicular control system determines that, after thethreshold period of time has elapsed, the lost cross-traffic threat isstill lost, the vehicular control system halts further prediction of theposition of the lost cross-traffic threat.
 13. The vehicular controlsystem of claim 1, wherein the safety system comprises an automaticemergency braking system.
 14. The vehicular control system of claim 1,wherein the vehicular control system determines distance travelled bythe equipped vehicle as the equipped vehicle approaches the intersectionand after detecting at least one cross-traffic threat approaching theintersection, and wherein the vehicular control system, responsive todetermining that the equipped vehicle has traveled more than a thresholddistance, adjusts at least one of the plurality of detected positions ofthe detected at least one cross-traffic threat stored in the at leastone buffer based on a current location of the equipped vehicle.
 15. Avehicular control system, the vehicular control system comprising: asensor disposed at a vehicle equipped with the vehicular control systemand sensing exterior and at least forward of the vehicle, the sensorcapturing sensor data; an electronic control unit (ECU) comprisingelectronic circuitry and associated software; wherein the electroniccircuitry of the ECU comprises a processor for processing sensor datacaptured by the sensor; wherein the vehicular control system, as theequipped vehicle is approaching an intersection that intersects aroadway along which the equipped vehicle is currently traveling andresponsive to processing by the processor of sensor data captured by thesensor, detects a position for each of a plurality of cross-trafficthreats approaching the intersection from a different roadway than theroadway the equipped vehicle is traveling along; wherein the vehicularcontrol system maintains at least one buffer for each respectivedetected cross-traffic threat of the plurality of cross-traffic threats,and wherein each buffer stores a trajectory of the respectivecross-traffic threat, and wherein the trajectory comprises a pluralityof detected positions of the respective cross-traffic threat as therespective cross-traffic threat travels along the different roadwaytoward the intersection ahead of the equipped vehicle; wherein thevehicular control system, for each respective cross-traffic threat asthe equipped vehicle approaches the intersection, and using thetrajectory stored in the buffer of the respective cross-traffic threat,determines a corresponding potential intersection point between theequipped vehicle and the respective cross-traffic threat; wherein thevehicular control system, for each respective cross-traffic threat,responsive to determining the corresponding potential intersectionpoint, determines an arrival time at the potential intersection pointfor the equipped vehicle and an arrival time at the potentialintersection point for the respective cross-traffic threat; wherein thevehicular control system, for each respective cross-traffic threat,determines a difference between the arrival time of the equipped vehicleat the intersection and the arrival time of the respective cross-trafficthreat; wherein the vehicular control system, using the differencebetween the arrival time of the equipped vehicle at the intersection andthe arrival time of each respective cross-traffic threat, determines amost critical cross-traffic threat; and wherein the vehicular controlsystem, responsive to determining that the difference between thearrival time of the equipped vehicle at the intersection and the arrivaltime of the most critical cross-traffic threat is less than a thresholdamount, controls a safety system of the vehicle.
 16. The vehicularcontrol system of claim 15, wherein each buffer comprises a configurablebuffer size that is configurable based on a speed of the equippedvehicle.
 17. The vehicular control system of claim 15, wherein the atleast one buffer comprises two buffers.
 18. The vehicular control systemof claim 15, wherein each buffer of the at least one buffer furtherstores lateral and longitudinal orientations of the correspondingcross-traffic threat.
 19. A vehicular control system, the vehicularcontrol system comprising: a sensor disposed at a vehicle equipped withthe vehicular control system and sensing exterior and at least forwardof the vehicle, the sensor capturing sensor data; an electronic controlunit (ECU) comprising electronic circuitry and associated software;wherein the electronic circuitry of the ECU comprises a processor forprocessing sensor data captured by the sensor; wherein the vehicularcontrol system, as the equipped vehicle is approaching an intersectionthat intersects a roadway along which the equipped vehicle is currentlytraveling and responsive to processing by the processor of sensor datacaptured by the sensor, detects a position of at least one cross-trafficthreat approaching the intersection from a different roadway than theroadway the equipped vehicle is traveling along; wherein the vehicularcontrol system maintains a pair of buffers for each respective detectedcross-traffic threat, and wherein each pair of buffers stores atrajectory of the respective cross-traffic threat, and wherein thetrajectory comprises a plurality of detected positions of the respectivecross-traffic threat as the respective cross-traffic threat travelsalong the different roadway toward the intersection ahead of theequipped vehicle, and wherein a first buffer of the pair of buffersstores lateral orientations of the respective cross-traffic threat, andwherein a second buffer of the pair of buffers stores longitudinalorientations of the respective cross-traffic threat; wherein thevehicular control system, as the equipped vehicle approaches theintersection, and using the trajectory stored in the pair of buffers ofthe respective cross-traffic threat, determines a potential intersectionpoint between the equipped vehicle and the at least one cross-trafficthreat; wherein the vehicular control system, responsive to determiningthe potential intersection point, determines an arrival time at thepotential intersection point for the equipped vehicle and an arrivaltime at the potential intersection point for the at least onecross-traffic threat; wherein the vehicular control system determines adifference between the arrival time of the equipped vehicle at theintersection and the arrival time of the at least one cross-trafficthreat; and wherein the vehicular control system, responsive todetermining that the difference between the arrival time of the equippedvehicle at the intersection and the arrival time of the at least onecross-traffic threat is less than a threshold amount, controls a safetysystem of the vehicle.
 20. The vehicular control system of claim 19,wherein the vehicular control system periodically updates the pair ofbuffers based on a current position of the equipped vehicle.
 21. Thevehicular control system of claim 20, wherein the vehicular controlsystem updates the pair of buffers after the equipped vehicle hastraveled more than a threshold distance.
 22. The vehicular controlsystem of claim 19, wherein the vehicular control system determinesdistance travelled by the equipped vehicle as the equipped vehicleapproaches the intersection and after detecting at least onecross-traffic threat approaching the intersection, and wherein thevehicular control system, responsive to determining that the equippedvehicle has traveled more than a threshold distance, adjusts at leastone of the plurality of detected positions of the detected at least onecross-traffic threat stored in the pair of buffers based on a currentlocation of the equipped vehicle.